Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
more fl avoursome alternatives. Honey and glucose syrups are good natural
alternatives containing a mixed sugar profi le. Dextrose, otherwise known as
glucose, gives 80% of the sweetness of sucrose and as a reducing sugar is a good
alternative when extra browning due to the Maillard reaction is required during a
cooking process. As a monosaccharide it also has an advantage over sucrose
(which is a disaccharide) in liquid sauce systems as a means of controlling water
activity (Anon. 1993). Fructose can be useful when extra sweetness is required as
it has between 20 and 50% more sweetness than sucrose. Lactose or milk sugar
gives 20% the sweetness of sugar and has uses in snack seasonings and sauces
where a cheese or dairy fl avour is required. Maltodextrin is produced by hydrolysis
from starch and is available in various dextrose equivalent (DE) values, with the
lower DE types (3-10) exhibiting properties closer to starch than sugar, the types
with DE of 10-20 exhibiting more sugar like qualities although the European
Union (EU) classifi es maltodextrins below 10 to be termed dextrins and above
20 to be termed glucose syrup.
13.2.3 Vegetables
The fi rst items of a recipe prepared by a chef are usually vegetable-based - onion
and garlic, for example, being fried, browned or softened in a pan. These and
other vegetables as well as fruits are readily available in fresh, frozen or canned
forms. The dry equivalents are readily available in various formats as shown in
Table 13.2 .
13.2.4 Dairy ingredients
Dairy and egg ingredients are widely used in today's cooking particularly
in Western cuisine in their recognisable fresh formats, for example, pasteurised
egg, milks, creams, butter, etc. Their alternative dry formats are shown in
Table 13.3 .
13.2.5 Fats and oils
Vegetable-derived fats and oils are used in savoury products to add both mouthfeel
and sheen to sauces and gravies, especially when used in recipe dishes and pour-
over sauces and gravies. They are also used in coating systems to add crispness
and added mouthfeel to oven-baked coated products. Liquid oils such as sunfl ower
and rape seed oils are both commonly used as are semi-solid or solid block fats,
though the move away from hydrogenated fats has meant reduced availability of
the block fats.
Animal-derived fats are also used to add fl avour and succulence to a number of
products such as bouillons and stocks and in snack seasonings. The alternative to
liquid fats are fat powders, which are used for dry ingredient blends for use in
savoury food products and are available in a range of melting points and now as
non-hydrogenated options - although mostly these are derived from palm, which
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